I have this dear friend who is a Senior Chief in the US Navy... he is African-American...

On Inauguration Day he was part of the military/naval guard along the parade route...

Today I was talking to him and he was telling me how for the few hours that he was at parade rest, and then at attention while POTUS drove by, some people were yelling at him calling him a "Nazi."

It made me sick to hear that...

This hardworking, noble, smart man, doing service to his country, and an example to us all...

I was so furious for a while... the Cuban in me wanted to be there by his side and kicked some butt... and then I calmed down as I realized that I should not spend calories on mutant fools....

And to whoever was ignorant enough to have called my friend a Nazi, wasting that insult on an intelligent... no brilliant progressive man... FUCK YOU IGNORANT ASSWIPES! Ignorant is soooo much more an effective insult than Nazi.Ignorant(s)!

Both my hands were very dirty from charcoal, as I had been rubbing a drawing for the longest time... and I was hungry.Upstairs, the smell of freshly cooked steak wafted down to the basement. I went up, and soon there was a nice plate of steak, onions and mushrooms all ready to be eaten.I was alone, and so I took the plate down, intending to eat while I continued to work.Downstairs I realized that I had left the utensils upstairs... but the steak had been sliced into somewhat manageable portions.I decided that I would iguana-eat a piece, so that I could eat it while I went back upstairs... and so I iguana'd the chunk of steak, but I was so hungry that I ate it too quickly... What to do?Master iguana-eaters perfect their eating craft while carrying one of those giant buckets of pop corn (at the movies) in one hand, and a giant soft drink in the other.No one can resist waiting to be seated to start on the pop corn, and so many of us iguana the pop corn en route to our seat... the head dips, the mouth opens and pop corn is iguana into the gullet.As a master iguana-eater, I decided to grab another piece of steak, and then head upstairs for the utensils.... my head dipped down into the plate... black charcoaly hands spread out for balance.I iguana'd the steak bite, raised my neck, and a smaller piece of meat, which had been barely attached to the larger piece in my mouth, went flying... and landed squarely on the middle of the drawing.Yah!

This year not only marks Smith Center for Healing and the Arts' 20th anniversary, but also the 5th Alchemical Vessels exhibition and benefit. This year's concept for A-V-5 is The Night's Journey: 125 artists, chosen by 20 curators, have been asked to create or choose a vessel to tell their story about the cyclical passage from pain to healing - a journey that resonates with all of us.

Once again we are offering the opportunity to take home one of these unique artworks and this year we've added an additional ticket option based on your feedback. Each ticket sold directly supports our mission as Washington DC's only independent integrative cancer support organization.

Admission for one to the benefit event and a priority ticket number to choose your favorite vessel (1-15). *Tickets 1-15 are assigned first come, first serve beginning March 10th, 10:00 am – The 1st purchaser of a premium ticket will receive 1st choice of a vessel, 2nd purchaser will get the 2nd choice and so on.

Standard - $175 TICKETS # 16-125

Admission for one to the benefit event and a standard ticket number to choose your favorite vessel (16-125). *Tickets 16-125 are assigned first come, first serve beginning March 10th, 10:00 am – The 1st purchaser of a standard ticket will receive 16th choice of a vessel, 2nd purchaser will get the 17th choice and so on.

Benefit only - $50

Admission for one to attend the Alchemical Vessels benefit, a lovely and lively evening of catered food, live music and complimentary wine and beer all night. This ticket does not include the purchase of a vessel.